Taking Care of Moms and Babies Shouldn't Be a Partisan Issue

Pregnancy can be life-changing, but it also requires specific care — without which, it can become life-threatening for both mom and baby. Making sure that every woman has access to that care shouldn't be controversial or partisan, yet Congress has made it one in its attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act (AKA the ACA, AKA Obamacare).

Currently, the ACA mandates that insurance providers have to cover what are called "essential benefits," which includes prenatal and maternity care, mental health services and prescription drug services. However, both the House bill and the latest two versions of the Senate bill allow states to apply for waivers that would allow them to opt out of providing those essential benefits.

In fact, the latest draft of the Senate health care bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, specifically includes an amendment from Ted Cruz that would allow insurers to offer so-called "skinny" plans that are not Affordable Care Act-compliant as long as they offer at least one plan on the individual market that is. They'll also be allowed to charge sicker people more than they do healthy people. This means that millions of people with preexisting conditions may not be able to get the care they need, and it could also render the cost of pregnancy — which is already expensive — prohibitive for moms and families.

The Senate health care bill also guts Medicaid and bans Planned Parenthood from federal funding for a year — both of which will disproportionately impact medically fragile children and low-income moms and moms-to-be. Moreover, it allows employers to opt out of covering birth control — and access to birth control is crucial to safe and healthy family planning.

This week, the Senate is set to vote on a health care bill, though which bill exactly that will be, nobody knows. Now more than ever, it is crucial to fight back against legislation that hurts the most vulnerable in our society. That's why What to Expect author Heidi Murkoff is speaking out against both versions of the Senate health care bill and urges you to do so as well. "[This] is a fundamental human issue," she says in the video below. "Health care for every woman, every mom, every baby, every child is a fundamental right. As members of the same human family and not members of political teams it's up to us to fulfill that right, without exception."

Watch Heidi's full speech below and then contact your representatives to let them know that everybody deserves access to the care they need — period.